A Lancashire man has been handed a fine after sticking both his middle fingers up at a road camera to “celebrate” that he was driving under the speed limit.
And now, 44-year-old Ben Baron is crowdfunding to pay his fine.
The incident – which occurred on the commute to work in early December 2020 – happened as Ben approached a known speeding “hotspot” in Clayton-le-Moors where he had previously been caught by a camera before.
Ben admitted that he was just so “elated” to pass the camera while under the limit, that he decided to celebrate by sticking his middle fingers up at the operator.
But unfortunately, this meant that he drove “around 200 metres” with both hands off the wheel.
The dad-of-two and Software Developer then carried on with his day oblivious to the fact, while he had not been committing a speeding offence, he had instead been snapped for “not being in a position to have proper control” of the vehicle, and claims he was “in tears of laughter” after receiving the legal letter with a notice of intended prosecution and images showing him swearing while his passenger laughed along.
Ben joked that the person responsible for handing him the fine has “made it personal”, which is he launched a GoFundMe page to cover the costs, vowing to give any leftover money to charity.
“[When I got the letter] I was in tears of laughter.” Ben said.
“I’ll take one for the team with this one because it’s so funny. It’s a clear-cut case of me flipping the bird at them with both hands [so] it’s a bit of kudos,
“I’m happy to pay the fine.
“I did a celebratory double-flipping, two-handed, which is obviously now leading to the prosecution [and] I carried on doing it for quite a while too, around 200 metres potentially.
“They’ve got good cameras.
“I think, looking on the internet, the maximum fine is £1,000 for that offence [so] I decided to launch a GoFundMe and hopefully people with a sense of humour [will donate].
“I’ll pay the fine off then give the rest to charity if there’s anything left.”
Wikimedia Commons
And he’s right too.
For failing to be in proper control of a motor vehicle, offenders may receive three penalty points and a £100 fine if dealt with by way of a fixed penalty, with the maximum penalty being a £1,000 fine.
While Ben’s GoFundMe page – titled ‘Help Me Pay My Fine For Sticking It To The Man’ – was launched on last Wednesday morning and has yet to attract any donations, he claims that he has been inundated with tips from fellow experienced drivers on how to appeal the fine by online, but admits they didn’t know the full story.
Since he has freely admitted to the offence, he claims he won’t appeal it, but hopes some contributions on his fundraising page maybe soften the financial blow.
Ben said: “I’ve been driving for 20 years. It was a quiet day on the roads since it’s lockdown. I was just driving to the office.
“Online, I’ve had [funny replies] and people telling me how to appeal it, but I don’t think they knew the full story.
“I can’t necessarily appeal it.
Realistically, I don’t think I’ll get away with it because I was doing it.”
Trending
Rising Mancunian MMA star Lewis McGrillen set to take part in PFL Champions Series
Danny Jones
Rising Manchester MMA fighter, Lewis McGrillen, is topping off a breakout 12 months with a big booking in the Middle East, as he is set to feature in the Professional Fighters League’s (PFL) latest ‘Champions Series’ over in the UAE.
Continuing an incredible and seminal campaign, the Wythenshawe-born and raised bantamweight, who became the champion of his division back in December, is set to feature in the next edition of the PFL Champion series later this year.
As a fast-growing Mancunian sportsman, he’s got plenty of backing here at home, but his larger-than-life personality has also seen him become a charismatic figure in the world of MMA overall.
With the likes of Wigan’s Tom Aspinall now the unified heavyweight champion and Manc UFC fighter Lerone Murphy calling for his own title shot, Greater Manchester is having a truly great moment within the discipline.
But in terms of characters, for our money at the minute, there are arguably few more compelling characters in mixed martial arts than McGrillen-Evan (to use his full name) besides Liverpool favourite Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett.
All hail the golden era of North West knockout stars.
The resurgence of not just high-potential but increasingly successful fighters in the region has not only seen an added interest in the fight game, but the city is attracting even more events of late, too.
Having made the step up from flyweight to compete amongst the bantams, Lewis ‘The McGrizzla’ McGrillen – we’ll never not chuckle at that nickname – is quickly going from one of the PFL’s best prospects to among the most exciting names in MMA full stop.
With 13 professional fights under his belt, a dozen of those being wins and 10 of them being by TKO, he’s past being considered merely ‘one to watch’ if you ask us.
A product of the notorious Manchester Top Team, led by the likes of aforementioned ‘Miracle ‘Murphy and fellow native Kane Mousah, the bantamweight champ will be looking to make an even bigger name for himself on the PFL’s global stage this autumn.
McGrillen is due to tussle with County Tyrone’s Caolan Loughran, 29, in the Dubai bout on Friday, 3 October, and we’re backing him to make a big splash.
You only watch the likes of his match against Dean Garnett, one that was dubbed “the fight of the year”, and you’ll understand why…
Nevertheless, his opponent had a lot of his own choice words to say following plenty of big talk from a very confident Lewis. Who are you backing to come out on top, fight fans?
🗣️ "He has been in my DMs. The other night he said I am getting smashed. He is an aggressive kid, which favours him at a certain level, but I think it will hinder him at this level."
Featured Images — Supplied/Stillryan (screenshot via YouTube)
Trending
Aldi’s ‘superfan’ card is back to give someone FREE shopping for a year
Emily Sergeant
Aldi’s is looking to give one lucky person free shopping for a full year as its ‘superfan card’ competition returns.
Did you know that, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the average UK household now spends, on average, £4,124 on groceries annually? For many families, that figure could be even higher too, unfortunately.
But for one lucky Aldi shopper, they soon won’t have to part ways with a single penny for 12 whole months.
That’s because the budget supermarket retailer has announced the return of its ‘superfan card’ after it proved to be a huge success last year, and wants to celebrate its most loyal customer by offering them a year’s-worth of groceries for free.
Only one shopper will be able to claim the exclusive new card.
Aldi’s ‘superfan’ card is back to give someone free shopping for a year / Credit: Aldi UK
While Aldi is the UK’s cheapest supermarket, which tends to mean customers spend less groceries overall anyway, the wide selection of seasonal Specialbuys on offer in the fan-favourite ‘middle aisle’ can often mean shoppers end up spending more.
Which is why Aldi’s Superfan Card will be worth £5,000 so the winner can bag all the exciting extras as well as the essentials.
Last year, it was actually Charlotte Mellor from Oldham who bagged the first-ever Superfan Card offering a year’s worth of free groceries, so will Greater Manchester be lucky enough to go again for a second year? Only time will tell.
All bargain-lovers need to do to be in with the chance of winning the card is explain to Aldi judges – who will carefully review all submissions – in no more than 250 words they are the company‘s biggest fan and deserve to win a year’s worth of free shopping.
You just need to be over 18, and to email your name, age, hometown, and your entry to [email protected], before the deadline on Thursday 18 September at 11:59pm.
The winner will be contacted by Wednesday 1 October 2025.
The Manc -
15th February 2021 
